Shloka 3
Nārada and Aṅgirā Instruct Citraketu: Impermanence, Ātma-Tattva, and Mantra-Upadeśa
यथा प्रयान्ति संयान्ति स्रोतोवेगेन बालुका: । संयुज्यन्ते वियुज्यन्ते तथा कालेन देहिन: ॥ ३ ॥
yathā prayānti saṁyānti sroto-vegena bālukāḥ saṁyujyante viyujyante tathā kālena dehinaḥ
ਹੇ ਰਾਜਾ! ਜਿਵੇਂ ਲਹਿਰਾਂ ਦੇ ਵੇਗ ਨਾਲ ਰੇਤ ਦੇ ਕਣ ਕਦੇ ਇਕੱਠੇ ਹੁੰਦੇ ਹਨ ਤੇ ਕਦੇ ਵੱਖ ਹੋ ਜਾਂਦੇ ਹਨ, ਤਿਵੇਂ ਦੇਹਧਾਰੀ ਜੀਵ ਸਮੇਂ ਦੇ ਬਲ ਨਾਲ ਕਦੇ ਮਿਲਦੇ ਹਨ ਤੇ ਕਦੇ ਵਿਛੁੜ ਜਾਂਦੇ ਹਨ।
The misunderstanding of the conditioned soul is the bodily conception of life. The body is material, but within the body is the soul. This is spiritual understanding. Unfortunately, one who is in ignorance, under the spell of material illusion, accepts the body to be the self. He cannot understand that the body is matter. Like small particles of sand, bodies come together and are separated by the force of time, and people falsely lament for unification and separation. Unless one knows this, there is no question of happiness. Therefore in Bhagavad-gītā (2.13) this is the first instruction given by the Lord:
FAQs
This verse explains that meetings and separations among embodied beings happen under the control of time, like sand gathering and dispersing in a river current—so one should not cling to worldly connections as permanent.
Nārada spoke to relieve Citraketu’s grief and awaken discernment, teaching that loss and separation are inevitable in material life because time moves all beings through changing circumstances.
Remember that change is natural and time-driven; focus on steady spiritual practice—hearing and chanting about the Lord—so the heart gains peace even when relationships and situations shift.